Station Papa Time Series: Insights into Ecosystem Dynamics

The Northeast Pacific has one of the longest time series of any open ocean station, primarily as a result of the weathership station at Station P from the 1950s to 1981. This review summarizes our understanding of the plankton ecosystem for this station and examines interannual variability for the primary producers. The weathership era characterized a period of high temporal sampling resolution with a limited number of parameters being measured. In contrast, the post-weathership period focussed on seasonal sampling (usually three times per year), but a wider range of parameters were measured and sediment traps were deployed to estimate carbon and opal flux rates. The mixed layer depth is shallow compared to the Atlantic Ocean, ranging from 40 to 120 m in late summer and winter respectively. Nitrate, silicate and phosphate are saturating year round with only a few exceptions in the 1970s. Winter and summer Si:N ratios are the same (1.5:1). Ammonium and urea are 0.5 uM in winter and near detection limits (∼0.1 uM) in late summer. Iron is limiting (∼0.05 nM) in late spring and summer for the growth of large diatoms, but iron is co-limiting with irradiance in winter. Chlorophyll and primary productivity are low and show little seasonal variation (about 2 times). Summer chl is about 20 mg m⁻² while primary productivity ranges from 400–850 mg C m⁻²d⁻¹. The f-ratio of 0.25 does not vary with seasons and indicates that primary productivity is fueled by regenerated nitrogen (e.g. NH₄ and urea). Small cells (<5 um) are normally abundant and they utilize regenerated nitrogen produced by the micrograzers; they do not appear to be Fe-limited, but rather controlled by the micrograzers. Shipboard carboy experiments indicate that large diatoms become dominant when iron is added. Therefore top down control is exerted by the micrograzers on the small cells, while there is bottom up control of the large phytoplankton due to low Fe concentrations. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Emergence of multi-stakeholder-driven cooperative research in the Northwest Atlantic: The case of the Northeast Consortium

The past 50 years in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank is marked by a growing divide between fishermen, scientists, and managers. This paper tracks the scientific, regulatory, social and political evolution of fisheries management in the Northwest Atlantic, culminating in a distrustful and adversarial climate, a convergence of diverse policy needs, and the emergence of a multi-stakeholder cooperative research program—the Northeast Consortium. The institutional structure and activities of the Northeast Consortium are presented and we conclude with a discussion of the role of cooperative research in building mutual understanding and respect, trust and scientific legitimacy.     

Hydrographic changes in the Labrador Sea, 1960–2005

The Labrador Sea has exhibited significant temperature and salinity variations over the past five decades. The whole basin was extremely warm and salty between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, and fresh and cold between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. The full column salinity change observed between these periods is equivalent to mixing a 6 m thick freshwater layer into the water column of the early 1970s. The freshening and cooling trends reversed in 1994 starting a new phase of heat and salt accumulation in the Labrador Sea sustained throughout the subsequent years. It took only a decade for the whole water column to lose most of its excessive freshwater, reinstate stratification and accumulate enough salt and heat to approach its record high salt and heat contents observed between the late 1960s and the early 1970s. If the recent tendencies persist, the basin’s storages of salt and heat will fairly soon, likely by 2008, exceed their historic highs.The main process responsible for the net cooling and freshening of the Labrador Sea between 1987 and 1994 was deep winter convection, which during this period progressively developed to its record depths. It was caused by the recurrence of severe winters during these years and in its turn produced the deepest, densest and most voluminous Labrador Sea Water (LSW_1987–1994) ever observed. The estimated annual production of this water during the period of 1987–1994 is equivalent to the average volume flux of about 4.5 Sv with some individual annual rates exceeding 7.0 Sv. Once winter convection had lost its strength in the winter of 1994–1995, the deep LSW_1987–1994 layer lost “communication” with the mixed layer above, consequently losing its volume, while gaining heat and salt from the intermediate waters outside the Labrador Sea.While the 1000–2000 m layer was steadily becoming warmer and saltier between 1994 and 2005, the upper 1000 m layer experienced another episode of cooling caused by an abrupt increase in the air-sea heat fluxes in the winter of 1999–2000. This change in the atmospheric forcing resulted in fairly intense convective mixing sufficient to produce a new prominent LSW class (LSW₂₀₀₀) penetrating deeper than 1300 m. This layer was steadily sinking or deepening over the years following its production and is presently overlain by even warmer and apparently less dense water mass, implying that LSW₂₀₀₀ is likely to follow the fate of its deeper precursor, LSW_1987–1994. The increasing stratification of the intermediate layer implies intensification in the baroclinic component of the boundary currents around the mid-depth perimeter of the Labrador Sea.The near-bottom waters, originating from the Denmark Strait overflow, exhibit strong interannual variability featuring distinct short-term basin-scale events or pulses of anomalously cold and fresh water, separated by warm and salty overflow modifications. Regardless of their sign these anomalies pass through the abyss of the Labrador Sea, first appearing at the Greenland side and then, about a year later, at the Labrador side and in the central Labrador Basin.The Northeast Atlantic Deep Water (2500–3200 m), originating from the Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water, reached its historically freshest state in the 2000–2001 period and has been steadily becoming saltier since then. It is argued that LSW_1987–1994 significantly contributed to the freshening, density decrease and volume loss experienced by this water mass between the late 1960s and the mid 1990s via the increased entrainment of freshening LSW, the hydrostatic adjustment to expanding LSW, or both.     

Line P ocean temperature and salinity, 1956-2005

Vertical profiles of temperature and salinity have been measured for 50 years along Line P between the North American west coast and mid Gulf of Alaska. These measurements extend 1425 km into the gulf at 13 or more sampling stations. The 10-50-m deep layer of Line P increased in temperature by 0.9 °C from 1958 to 2005, but is significant only at the 90% level due to large interannual variability. Most of this increase in temperature accompanies the 1977 shift in wind patterns. Temperature changes at 100-150 m and salinity changes in both layers are not statistically significant. Much of the variance in temperature is in the upper 50 m of Line P, and temperature changes tend to be uniform along Line P except for waters on the continental margin. Salinity changes are dominated by variability in the halocline between 100 and 150 m depth and are less uniform along Line P. Largest oscillations in temperature and salinity are between 1993 and 2003. These events can be understood by considering changes in eastward wind speed and wind patterns that are revealed in the first two modes of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Changes in these patterns are indicators for both Ekman surface forcing (Surface ocean currents flow to the right of the wind direction) and Ekman pumping (Surface waters diverge away from regions of positive wind stress curl, leading to upwelling of colder saltier water). Changes in temperature along the nearshore part of Line P suggest Ekman surface forcing is the stronger of the two processes in the upper layer. The change in salinity anomalies in the halocline along the seaward end of Line P, following the wind shift in 1977, is in agreement with enhanced upwelling caused by stronger Ekman pumping in this region.     

中-新生代东北和华北的洋陆转换作用

本文对西太平洋的洋-陆转换作用进行探讨。西太平洋洋-陆转换带在中国东部可分为华南、华北-黄海和东北3个区段。东北地区中-新生代洋-陆转换作用涉及古今太平洋板块和蒙古—鄂霍茨克洋板块两方面俯冲作用的影响,产生大面积中基性岩浆和火山活动,从侏罗纪一直延伸到现在。不同于东北和华南地区,华北-黄海有克拉通型的岩石圈,在晚侏罗世—新近纪因为太平洋板块的大角度旋转造成软流圈低黏度物质上涌,和地壳拉张与幔源岩浆的底侵,造成上地壳裂谷型沉积盆地。燕山地区在侏罗纪与东北地区类似,有强烈的软流圈上涌和岩石圈岩石部分熔融,产生强烈岩浆活动。在白垩纪到新生代,因为蒙古—鄂霍茨克洋闭合和太平洋板块大角度旋转,发生沿蒙古—鄂霍茨克洋的转换断层的拉张,产生从南蒙古过锡林浩特的NW向玄武质岩浆和火山带。洋-陆转换带不同区段有不同的动力学作用演化过程,与先期岩石圈的性质、大洋板块俯冲带的分布、方向变化和俯冲持续时间、以及后期俯冲带后撤作用都有密切关系。洋-陆转换作用的统一后果是大陆的增生,但是不同区段大陆增生和物质运动的模式是不一样的。     

粤东北贝岭地热田地热地质特征及水化学分析北大核心CSCD

粤东北地区拥有丰富的低温水热型地热资源。贝岭地热田位于河源深断裂北东端,具有优越的地热地质条件,地热田内施工的钻孔(ZK1~ZK5)均揭露到了热矿水,水温48.2~77.0℃。为了深入研究地热田内的水化学特征,通过运用系统的水文地球化学分析方法,得出研究区热矿水水化学类型为低矿化的HCO_(3)-Na型,SiO_(2)含量较高,可用作理疗矿泉水。研究区地下热矿水处于水岩作用的初级阶段,热矿水中的石英和玉髓溶解度已达平衡状态。使用石英温标进行热储估算,结果表明T_(石英)=116.0~150.1℃,平均地温梯度G=12.01℃/100 m,热储循环深度H=819.33~1103.26 m。本研究为今后该区的深部找热工作提供了一定的技术支撑。     

东北水稻产区土壤-作物系统锌元素生态地球化学特征

以东北主要水稻产区为研究区,以土壤-作物系统锌元素地球化学为研究对象,进行了系统的野外调查和土壤、水稻样品的采集、测试及统计分析。研究结果表明,东北水稻产区土壤表层锌含量介于11.01~94.95 mg/kg之间,平均值为43.97 mg/kg,锌含量总体处于缺乏状态;籽实锌含量介于14.27~36.92 mg/kg之间,平均值为24.70 mg/kg,样品中97.56%的籽实锌含量满足人体需要从谷物摄取到的量,品质优良;水稻籽实锌生物富集系数从高到低依次为草原风沙土、草甸土、盐渍水稻土、黑土、淹育水稻土、水稻土、暗棕壤、草甸白浆土;水稻籽实中锌元素的富集与土壤表层硼、锗、铋、镉、铅、锂、铍等元素含量呈现不同程度的显著负相关。     

关于古亚洲洋构造演化研究的几点思考

古亚洲洋不是西伯利亚陆台和华北地台间的一个简单洋盆,而是在不同时间、不同地区打开和封闭的多个大小不一的洋盆复杂活动(包括远距离运移)的综合体.其北部洋盆起始于新元古代末-寒武纪初(573~522Ma)冈瓦纳古陆裂解形成的寒武纪洋盆.寒武纪末-奥陶纪初(510~480Ma),冈瓦纳古陆裂解的碎块、寒武纪洋壳碎块和陆缘过渡壳碎块相互碰撞、联合形成原中亚-蒙古古陆.奥陶纪时,原中亚-蒙古古陆南边形成活动陆缘,志留纪形成稳定大陆.泥盆纪初原中亚-蒙古古陆裂解,裂解的碎块在新形成的泥盆纪洋内沿左旋断裂向北运动,于晚泥盆世末到达西伯利亚陆台南缘,重新联合形成现在的中亚-蒙古古陆.晚古生代时,在现在的中亚-蒙古古陆内发生晚石炭世(318~316Ma)和早二叠世(295~285Ma)裂谷岩浆活动,形成双峰式火山岩和碱性花岗岩类.蒙古-鄂霍次克带是西伯利亚古陆和中亚-蒙古古陆之间的泥盆纪洋盆,向东与古太平洋连通,洋盆发展到中晚侏罗世,与古太平洋同时结束,其洋壳移动到西伯利亚陆台边缘受阻而向陆台下俯冲,在陆台南缘形成广泛的陆缘岩浆岩带,从中泥盆世到晚侏罗世都非常活跃.古亚洲洋的南部洋盆始于晚寒武世.此时,华北古陆从冈瓦纳古陆裂解出来,在其北缘形成晚寒武世-早奥陶世的被动陆缘和中奥陶世-早志留世的沟弧盆系.志留纪腕足类生物群的分布表明,华北地台北缘洋盆与塔里木地台北缘、以及川西、云南、东澳大利亚有联系,而与上述的古亚洲洋北部洋盆没有关连,两洋盆之间有松嫩-图兰地块间隔.晚志留世-早泥盆世,华北地台北部发生弧-陆碰撞运动,泥盆纪时,在松嫩地块南缘形成陆缘火山岩带,晚二叠世-早三叠世华北地台与松嫩地块碰撞,至此古亚洲洋盆封闭.古亚洲洋的南、北洋盆最后的褶皱构造,以及与塔里木地台之间发生的直接关系,很可能是后期的构造运动所造成的.